Treatment of Spider Veins Using 810 nm Diode Laser

Abstract

Spider veins are a common aesthetic problem mainly in females , the conventional method of treatment is by microsclerotherapy (injections) but laser therapy has become increasingly efficacious and a convenient method for treatment. The present study was performed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of pulsed diode laser (810nm) by doing thermal photocoagulation. Ten patients with lower limbs spider veins were included in this prospective study. They were treated with a repetitive pulsed diode laser in non contact technique using the following laser parameters (wave length 810nm,power 1 W ,pulse duration 0.1 s., pulse interval 0.5 s, spot diameter 4mm ,power density 7.9 W/cm2). Laser therapy was performed on day zero and day fourteen. Clinical assessments were carried out before laser therapy and immediately after the first laser therapy, after 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 6 weeks. The procedure was performed without using any type of anesthesia. Results showed that there was a remarkable improvement for all patients after the first treatment and after the second treatment. Only six patients showed a complete disappearance of the spider veins with absent peroperative and postoperative pain and complications, within short operative time in comparison with the microsclerotherapy. So the repetitive pulsed diode laser therapy (810nm) is an effective and safe treatment option for lower limbs spider veins. It's recommended that larger numbers of cases to be done to allow for a proper statistical analysis and a longer follow up period to assess the recurrence rate.